New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu


Center Players to Present "A Black and White Cookie"

originally published: 07/15/2023

Newsstand background photo by Rachel Barrett

(FREEHOLD, NJ) -- Center Players will conclude its successful 2022-23 season with a Signature Series production of A Black and White Cookie, an insightful new play by playwright/novelist Gary Morgenstein.  The comedic drama will run August 11-27, 2023 at Center Playhouse at 35 South Street in downtown Freehold, NJ. 

Named “Best Play” in BroadwayWorld.com’s Regional Awards, A Black and White Cookie centers around Harold Wilson, a gruff, conservative African American in his early 70s who finally re-opens his Manhattan newsstand after the pandemic lockdown, but an exorbitant rent increase forces him to close after 30 years and retire. Enter Albie Sands, an eccentric white liberal in his 70s who persuades Harold to fight back. Overcoming their differences, Harold and Albie form an unlikely yet powerful friendship which shows there’s more that unites us than divides us.

Center Players’ Artistic Director Bernice Garfield-Szita will direct the play. She also directed the 2022 production of Morgenstein’s A Tomato Can’t Grow in the Bronx, which was awarded “Best Original Play” at the 2022 Perry Awards by the NJ Association of Community Theaters (NJACT). After a sold out run at Center Playhouse, the production moved to Off Broadway in December 2022.

The cast features New Jersey actors Arthur Gregory Pugh, Jackie Kusher, Vince Fay, Jacynth Apora and Dale GenesisPerformances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm, and Sundays at 2:00pm. Tickets are priced at $28-$30 and can be purchased at www.centerplayers.org or by calling 732-462-9093.

“We are thrilled to present another one of Gary Morgenstein’s poignant, socially conscious plays,” noted Garfield-Szita. “His characters and themes are penetrating reflections of today’s world and offer insightful and amusing observations which make for great theater.”




Advertise with NJ Stage for $50-$100 per month, click here for info



Gary Morgenstein’s novels and plays have been featured in national media from the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Parade Magazine, the New York PostSports Illustrated and NPR.  This summer, A Black and White Cookie will make its West Coast premiere in Los Angeles at Sky Pilot Theater. An award-winning playwright, Morgenstein’s stage dramas include His Perry Award-winning (Best Original Play) poignant dramedy A Tomato Can’t Grow in the Bronx is about a working-class family in the tumultuous 1960s, while Free Palestine tackles the threat to academic freedom, antisemitism and political bullying triggered by the firing of a Jewish social studies teacher. Morgenstein’s latest work is the romantic dramedy Walking Charlie, about a widowed owner of a door factory and a recent immigrant who’s fled Venezuelan oppression, brought together by a pug dog named Charlie. His seven novels include the critically acclaimed dystopian political thrillers A Mound Over Hell and A Fastball for Freedom.

Celebrating its 21st season at Center Playhouse, Center Players is a respected, award-winning organization, presenting high quality, engaging productions featuring local talent in downtown Freehold. In addition to their signature plays, the group also sponsors free play reading events and offers dinner and theater packages with several local restaurants.




Advertise with NJ Stage for $50-$100 per month, click here for info




FEATURED EVENTS

COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY

Narrow results by date, categories, or region of New Jersey.

Anon(ymous)

Anon(ymous)

Thursday, November 07, 2024 @ 8:00pm
McCarter Theatre Center (Berlind Theatre)
91 University Place, Princeton, NJ 08540
category: theatre

View event page for full information


Back to the 80’s The Murder Mystery

Thursday, November 07, 2024 @ 6:00pm
Avenel Performing Arts Center
150 Avenel Street, Avenel, NJ 07001
category: theatre

View event page for full information


Fiddler On The Roof

Thursday, November 07, 2024 @ 2:00pm
Axelrod Performing Arts Center
100 Grant Avenue, Deal Park, NJ 07723
category: theatre

View event page for full information


More events

Event Listings are available for $10 and included with our banner ad packages








Advertise with New Jersey Stage for $50-$100 per month, click here for info




 

EVENT PREVIEWS

(RANDOLPH, NJ) -- The Marielaine Mammon School of Music, Performing Arts and Music Technologies at County College of Morris (CCM) presents this fall's musical "In The Heights" from November 6-9, 2024. The play is set in the lively Latino neighborhood of Washington Heights, Manhattan—where sweet coffee flows from corner bodegas, windows are always open and the air resonates with the rhythm of three generations of music.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

(NEW YORK, NY) -- Manhattan Theatre Club has announced full casting for the world premiere of Vladimir, written by Erika Sheffer (Russian Transport) and directed by Tony Award winner Daniel Sullivan (MTC: Proof, Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes). Vladimir runs from September 24 to November 10, 2024 at New York City Center Stage I (131 West 55th Street).


Shakespeare

Shakespeare Theatre of NJ presents "Macbeth" on the Main Stage for the first time in two decades

2024-10-16 to 2024-11-17


Art

Art House Productions Presents "Gruesome Playground Injuries" by Rajiv Joseph

2024-10-18 to 2024-11-10


More event previews